Buckle



(No Model.)

B. G. 48v R L. HENRY.

.BUGKLE.

No. 404,406. Patented June 4.1889. 1 14?. .Z.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT G. HENRY, OF WVAT-ERBURY, AND RENE L. HENRY, OF IIAMDEN, CONNECTICUT.

BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 404,406, dated June 4, 1889.

Application filed December 10, 1883- Serial 110,293,113. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT G. HENRY, of Waterbury, and RENE L. HENRY, of Hamden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, both citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buckles; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Onr invention has for its object to simplify the construction of buckles and to greatly improve their operation in use.

With these ends in view we have devised the novel construction, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, numbers being used to denote the several parts.

Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are front elevations of buckles embodying the principles of our invention; Fig. 6, a back view thereof; Fig. 7, a side elevation illustrating a form in which the buckle may be adjusted upward without disengagement of the front attaching-straps; and Fig. 8 is a side elevation illustrating a construction in which'the buckle cannot be adjusted either upward or downward without disengagement of the attaching-straps;

1 denotes the body of the buckle, which we have shown in all the figures as made-of wire. It may, however, be constructed from sheet metal, if preferred. The sides of the body are turned inward to form bearings 2 for the tongue 3, which is constructed to turn thereon. The special shape of the tongue is not an essential feature of our invention. The special features are a downwardly-proj ecting hook 9, turning either inward or outward, as shown, which is adapted to be engaged by the ring or loop 4, to which the front attaching-straps 5 are connected, a downwardly-projecting prong or prongs 6, which is adapted to engage the web 7, and a clamping surface or surfaces 8, which acts in the closed position to clamp the web between said surface and the upper portion of the body.

It has heretofore been a serious objection to the various suspender-buckles that have been placed upon the market that the construction was such as to necessitate metallic of a single prong.

parts more or less prominent upon the back of the buckle. This we wholly avoid, and construct our novel buckles in such a manner that the only metal at the back is the top and bottom cross-pieces of the body.

In the drawings we have shown the buckle as formed entirely from wire, and also as formed partly from wire and partly from sheet metal, the material from which it is formed notbeing of the essence of our invention. In practice we preferably make the body from wire and form it substantially as shown, although the special style is a matter of taste only and wholly within the province of the manufacturer. The ends of the piece of wire from which the body is formed may be connected at any place, preferably at the back, as-shown in Fig. 6.

In all of the forms the back of the buckle is as in Fig. 6that is, consisting simply of two wire cross-pieces. We thereby avoid the serious objection specified to the various buckles now upon the market, and make them perfectly smooth on the back, so that 'there is no inconvenience to the wearer and no danger whatever of wearing or tearing the shirt or any other article of clothing with which it may come in contact-for example, a stocking, if used upon a stocking-supporter.

In Fig. 1 the entire buckle is shown as made from wire except prong 6, which is made from sheet metal and closed upon the tongue. The buckle illustrated in Fig. 2 is the same, except that two prongs are formed on a sheetmetal cross-piece, the latter being closed upon the tongue in the same manner as before. We consider the two prongs 6 below the pivotal bearings of the tongue to be the equivalent In the buckle illustrated in Fig. 3 the style of the tongue is slightly changed, two prongs beingformed at the ends of a piece of wire, the latter being secured to the tongue by soldering. In the buckles illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 the entire tongue, including the clamping surface and hook 9, is struck out in a single piece from sheet metal, the prong 6, for engaging the suspender-web or other article upon which the buckle may be used, being punched out in triangular shape from the body of the piece and left attached at the top, as is clearly shown in said figures. The tongue in all of the forms is attached to the bearings by closing either the ends of the piece of wire or strips of the sheetmetal of which it is formed around them. From the bearings the tongue extends upward, then across under the top of the body, and then downward, hook 9 being formed at the lower end thereof and turning either inward or outward, as shown. The prong or prongs are attached to or formed upon the inner side of the tongue in such position as to engage the web near the bottom of the body. By causing the web to be clamped at the top between the body and the clamping-surface of the tongue we avoid the possibility of the tongue turning upward when the rings or loops of the attaching-straps are disengaged from hook f), it being of course essential that the construction be such as to permit engagement and disengagement of the attaching-straps without in any way disturbing the adjustment of the buckle.

It is found in practice that some purchasers prefer to use suspenders having buckles that may be readily moved upward or downward to adjust the trousers, while others prefor to have the buckle locked so that it cannot be moved in either direction without complete disengagement of the tongue from the web.

In the form illustrated in Fi g. 7 the buckle maybe adjusted in either direction without disengaging hook 9 from ring or loop 4, by simply raising the tongue far enough to release the clamping action of surface 8 upon the web. In the form illustrated in Fig. 8, however, we provide backwardly-projecting prongs 10 at the top of the tongue that is, at the back of the clamping-surface-which also engage the web, forming a complete lock, so that the buckle cannot be moved in either direction without completely disengaging prongs 10, as well as prongs (3, from the web,

the former acting in the engaged position to lock the buckle against upward movement and the latter against downward movement. In order to adjust the buckle when this form is used, it is necessary to disengage hook 9 from loop 4 and to throw the tongue to substantially the position shown in Fig. 8.

It will be apparent that when used upon suspenders the buckle is not attached in any way, but is simply threaded on the web by passing the latter in front of the bottom crosspiece of the body, and then back of the tongue and in front of the top cross-piece of the body, as is clearly shown in Figs. 7 and S.

It will of course be understood that the details of construction may be greatly changed without departing from the principle of our invention.

1. A buckle comprising a body or frame having upper and lower cross-pieces and bearings between said cross-pieces, a tongue pivotally attached to said bearings, and provided at its lower end with a hook and with a backwardly-extending prong 6 below said bearings, said tongue having its upper end extended above its pivotal bearings to form a clamping part 8, arranged to engage the web and clamp the same against the upper crosspiece of the said body or frame.

2. A buckle comprising a body havingbearings and a tongue turning thereon and haw ing a clamping-surface S, a prong f5, and a prong 10 to engage the web, and a hook to en-- gage an attaching-strap.

In testimony whereof we aflix ou rsignatures in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT G. HENRY. RENE L. HENRY. Witnesses:

BURTON G. CALDWELL, ELLs won'ru l Cm PER. 

